


Over-Tired, Over-Caffeinated and Whiny

by GinnyK



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-11-07
Updated: 2002-11-07
Packaged: 2019-05-31 06:10:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15113438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GinnyK/pseuds/GinnyK
Summary: Donna's in DC and an over-tired, over-caffeinated, whiny Josh is on a trip to Michigan, a situation that results in a mess of rambling emails, late night phone calls and Instant Message sessions





	Over-Tired, Over-Caffeinated and Whiny

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Over-Tired, Over-Caffeinated and Whiny**

**by:** Ginny

**Pairing/Characters:** Josh/Donna  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Series:** 7th in the Picking Up the Pieces series  
**Disclaimer:** They're not mine, nor do I expect to get them as a birthday present tomorrow. 

Donna rolled over and turned off the alarm clock.  She was amazed at how big a difference the extra sleep made.  It was just after 6 and she was ready to face the day ahead.  Sure she had been up at 3:45 getting Josh out the door and on his trip to Michigan but then she had decided to crawl back in his bed for an extra hour and a half worth of uninterrupted sleep.

It was heavenly and compared to the night before, blissfully quiet.

Josh had spent the better part of the previous night and that morning whining about a wide variety of things. He couldn't find his favorite pajamas; they were in the clean laundry basket. He wanted Donna to go on the trip with him; the President had asked her to stay behind and give Charlie a hand organizing things in preparation for a new secretary.  He wanted Donna to move in with him but she was resisting on the basis of how it would look.  His back hurt and he couldn't sleep; Donna got him some Advil and the heating pad.  He was out of coffee and Donna refused to reuse the grounds from the day before, even though they were still in the machine.  He was out of bagels and didn't have time to sit and eat a bowl of cereal. Donna sent him out the door with a container of yogurt and a plastic spoon, much to his disgust.  And the list went on and on until Donna had basically pushed him out the door at 4:30 AM.  With a quick kiss she pushed the care and feeding of Joshua Lyman off on Sam who was impatiently honking the horn from the street.

By the time she got out of the shower the snow that had been predicted for later in the day had already begun.  She grabbed Josh's keys off the counter, deciding that snow called for a car with decent tires and some heat.

By the time Donna sat down at her desk at 6:45 there were no less than 3 messages from Josh.

"Hi, it's me.  Just wanted to make sure you got in ok.  It was starting to snow when we took off."

"Me again, call me."

"Don--na, where are you?"

Donna glanced at the clock on the phone; it was almost 6:50.  She put through a call to Air Force One as she opened the cup of coffee she had picked up on the way in.

"Donna" he answered, sounding out of breath.  Which was strange because he was currently on Air Force One cruising along at 30,000 feet.

"Yes.  Why are you out of breath?"

"No reason."

"No reason or you don't want to admit that you and Sam are trying to play soccer on the plane again."

"Uh, the second thing.  By the way, you're late."

"Josh, I'm not late.  And since my slave driver boss is out of the office I plan on taking it easy today."

"Funny.  Any messages for me?"

"Of course."

Donna spent the next 20 minutes going over his phone messages and trying to convince him to take a nap while they were in the air.

"Last time I fell asleep and you weren't here to protect me CJ and Sam painted my nails pink." whined Josh.

"Josh quit whining and find yourself a quiet corner and hide.  You haven't slept well lately and it's about to catch up with you."

"How do you know?"

"How do I know what?"

"That I haven't been sleeping or that it's about to catch up with me."

"I've spent the last 5 nights at your place..."

"Yes, which is why you should just move in."

"Damn, I guess I walked right into that one, didn't I?" chuckled Donna. "And the answer to the rest of the question is you've been whining.  More than usual, I mean."

"Haha.  Look I have to go.  Sam's looking for me.  I'll call you later."

"OK.  Love you, bye."

"Love you too."

Donna hung up the phone and found Charlie standing in front of her desk with a smile on his face. "You two are just too cute." he smirked.

"Yeah, yeah.  Let's get to work.  I really don't want to get snowed in here."

By late afternoon Charlie and Donna had the office pretty well organized.  Donna even managed to do some straightening in Josh's office in between his 5 whiny phone calls.  And that count didn't even include the legitimate calls Josh made about work related things.  His last call concerned his inability to get his tie straight.  Donna suggested he ask Sam for help.  That didn't go over well.  Finally Donna told him he wasn't allowed to call anymore until he could stop whining.  With any luck that would mean she wouldn't hear from him until after the fundraiser they were attending that night.

After the final phone call Donna was about to bang her head on the desk when Leo came up to her and declared it was time to leave.  The snow was still falling and he had arranged for his driver to take both Donna and Margaret home before the roads got any worse.

Donna considered calling Josh back and telling him that she was leaving but decided that listening to the whining of her bored, overtired and possibly insane boyfriend was more than she could handle at the moment. So she fired off a quick e-mail, figuring he would probably check his mail before he left for the dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

from:dmoss@whitehouse.gov

to:jlyman@whitehouse.gov

subject:I'm outta here

It's a little after 4 and Leo's sending me home.  Snow's still coming down and these damn easterners can't handle it.  The driver's taking me, I'm leaving your car. 

I'll be at your place.  Maybe I'll even take a look around, see where I can put my things.

Donna

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She knew that last line would get him thinking.  By the time the driver got to Josh's place there was a message on the answering machine from him.

"Take all the space you need.  Heck, you can even clean out the spare room.  By the way, I hope I wasn't included in that 'damn easterners' comment'.  Call me.  I miss you."

Donna smiled as she sat down on the bench by the front door and kicked off her shoes. She shook the snow from her hair and shivered as she pushed the thermostat up to get the place warm.  She grabbed the cordless phone and went into the bedroom to get something dry to put on.  Josh didn't pick up his cell but she wasn't expecting him to, he was at the fundraiser with the rest of the group.

"Hi, it's me.  I'm home, I mean at your place...hope you're having fun.  Call me."

Donna cringed a little at her comment about being home but that's how she felt, at home.  She grabbed a pair of Josh's flannel pajamas to change into but decided to take a bath first to warm up.  She rummaged in the linen closet, looking for bubble bath she was sure she had left there.  She found it at last, getting a good laugh when she realized that the bottle was nearly empty and she had only used it a couple of times.

All warm and comfortable in Josh's pajamas Donna booted up the computer on his kitchen table and turned on the stove to make tea.  There was a message from Josh, no surprise there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

from:jlyman@whitehouse.gov

to:dmoss@whitehouse.gov

subject:I don't wanna go

Well, the subject line pretty much says it all.  Call me; get me out of this dinner.  I'm not in the mood for rubber chicken.

Josh

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donna chuckled to herself as she got up and went to the refrigerator.  She had planned on stopping by the food store on the way home and wasn't holding out much hope of finding anything good hidden among the beer bottles and old take out containers.  She managed to find some cheese and a can of soup in the cabinet.  Not exactly a gourmet meal but it was better than rubber chicken.

She typed an email to her parents and IM'd with Margaret while she ate. A load of laundry was next on the exciting agenda for the evening.  Actually having a chance to do the laundry was a treat for Donna.  She was used to doing it at 3 in the morning. 

She wandered around the apartment while the clothes dried.  As she was folding that last pair of pajamas the Instant Message chime sounded on the computer she had left on by accident.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

jlyman:DONNA!!!!!

dmoss:What are you doing on the computer?  Aren't you supposed to be eating rubber chicken and sucking up to rich old ladies?

jlyman:The ladies succumbed to my charms at a rather alarming pace and I wasn't hungry.

dmoss:And I'm supposed to believe that?  What's wrong?

jlyman:Nothing

dmoss:You're lying. I can tell.

jlyman:Fine. I have a headache.

dmoss:Did you take something?

jlyman:Yeah, Advil. What are you doing?

dmoss:Laundry.  Why didn't you just call?

jlyman:Cause I'm whining.

dmoss:OK, thanks for sparing me the ordeal.

jlyman:Very funny.  I miss you.

dmoss:It hasn't even been 18 hours since you left.

jlyman:But it's the most we've been apart since we've been together.

dmoss:I know.  Did you eat anything?

jlyman:No.

dmoss:Eat something, you'll feel better.  I stuck peanut butter crackers and raisins in your backpack.

jlyman:OK.

dmoss:Eat and try to get some rest.  I'll be here all night.  Call me later.

jlyman:OK, leave the computer on.

dmoss:I will.  I love you.

jlyman:Love you too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donna debated for a few minutes about whether or not to pick up the phone and call Josh.  But she decided that listening to him whine really wasn't what she was in the mood for.  With a sigh she wandered into Josh's spare bedroom and flicked on the light.  She just shook her head and laughed at the mess.  Books, CD's, seldom-used exercise equipment and pictures were strewn everywhere. There were at least half a dozen boxes still packed from when Josh and Donna had helped his Mom pack up the house in Connecticut a year earlier.  Memories and such from his childhood.  

For the first month or so after he had brought the stuff from Connecticut Donna had bugged him about unpacking it.  Display some of the things, hang some of the pictures she told him.  But he had refused.  And Donna realized quickly that it would have been too hard.  At the time he was still shaky from the PTSD diagnosis.  So she didn't push him any further and soon the boxes had been pushed aside, literally and figuratively.

Running into the bathroom, Donna grabbed a scrunchie and pulled her hair back.  She popped a CD into the stereo and turned it up enough so she could hear Faith Hill in the spare room.

Not quite knowing where to start she stacked the boxes from his mother's house in the corner, feeling like opening them would be an invasion of his privacy.  Making stack of various items, CDs and the numerous magazines, she cleared a path through the room.  When she reached the other side she stopped long enough to check the email and grab a bottle of water from the kitchen.  There were no emails from Josh and she hoped he had just fallen asleep.

He had fallen asleep after trying to eat something.  He had gotten a few crackers down and decided sleep was what he really needed.  Only stopping long enough to take off his jacket and tie he had curled up on the bed and was out in a matter of minutes.

Donna returned to her cleaning after changing the CD, putting on Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run.  While she had been on a roll with her efforts they slowed considerably when she straightened up the collection of Physics texts, magazines and exercise equipment that reminded her of just how close she had come to losing Josh to a single bullet.  It got her thinking about the future; their future.  Maybe the idea of moving in with Josh wasn't as scary as she had first thought, she mused to herself.  With the room cleaned of some of the clutter she pictured some of her own things in there, the cedar chest from her Grandmother, the shelf she had made in the 11th grade when she and her best friend took woodshop on a dare.  Lost in her little domestic fantasy she didn't hear the Instant Message chime the first 3 times it went off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

jlyman:Donna?  You there?

jlyman:Guess not.  But I am, so I'll just ramble a little.  Just woke up.  Feel a little better. Head's better but my back's still stiff.  Wait, I didn't confess that my back hurt did I?  Oh, well, it did but I slept on the heating pad.  Thanks for packing it.  I would have forgotten it. But I guess you know that. Sam just stopped by to give the highlight of the rest of the fundraiser.  Apparently there weren't too many highlights so he didn't stay long.  I think he wanted to go back to his ro

jlyman:OK, this limited IM space sucks.  Anyway, I think Sam wanted to go and call Ainsley.  Is it still snowing there?  You should stay home tomorrow if it's too bad.  I'm sure you brought work home anyway.  You're always prepared like that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The third chime sounded, breaking Donna out of her thoughts.  She put the teakettle on and leaned over the table to read Josh's messages.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

dmoss:I'm here.  I was in the spare room.

jlyman:cleaning?

dmoss:Sort of picking up and organizing.  Don't worry I didn't go through the boxes from CT.

jlyman:you can, it's ok.

dmoss:I didn't feel right about just opening them.

jlyman:so decide to move in?

dmoss:Boy you're not exactly subtle tonight are you?

jlyman:nope

dmoss:I'm considering it.

jlyman:PLEEEEEEASE

dmoss:You're whining

jlyman:I know, I'm a little wired too.

dmoss:You raided the mini bar and drank all the Coke didn't you?

jlyman:and ate an over priced chocolate bar.

dmoss:Tell me you had something to eat besides chocolate.

jlyamn:some of the crackers.  Let me grab the rest.

jlyman:I'll be right back, I'm going to put on my pajamas.  Put yours on too.

dmoss:Already have them on.  Your pajamas, actually, the red plaid ones.

jlyman:I'm back.  The red ones, cute.

dmoss:I try.  So if I move in we need some rules.

jlyman: dear God, no rules, please.

dmoss:Calm down, I was only kidding.  

jlyman: I'm going to get off and call you.  I can't get comfortable trying to balance this on my lap.

dmoss:ok

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donna turned off AOL and hunted through the cabinet for some junk food with the portable phone in her hand. It was a few minutes before it rang and she was beginning to wonder if Josh had fallen asleep.  As she hit pay dirt and found his hidden stash of Oreos the phone rang.

"Hello"

"Hi.  Sorry it took a while.  I went to brush my teeth and I had to clear the bed off."

"Did you take a sleeping pill?"

"Yeah." 

"Good."

"What are you doing?"

"Eating Oreos and pacing around the kitchen."

"Do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Go into the spare room and open up the boxes."

"Are you sure?  Don't you want to be here to do this?"

"I don't know. It just seems easier this way." said Josh wearily.

Something in his tone tugged at Donna's heart.  She could picture him, curled up on the bed in his favorite blue pajamas, wearing the "puppy-dog" look that got to her every time.

"Josh, you ok?"

"Yeah." he whispered.

"OK, let me find something to cut the tape with."

"There's a utility knife in the drawer next to the dishwasher."

"Ok"

Donna put the package of cookies on the counter, found the knife and headed for the spare room.

"Just pick a box?"

"Yeah."

"OK, here's one marked school stuff.  Let me open it...Looks like yearbooks, a few trophies, and some varsity letters. Josh, the bowling team." Donna giggled.

"OK, next box."

"No, wait I have to look at your yearbook pictures."

"No, really you don't." said Josh; suddenly glad he was hundreds of miles away.

"Oh Josh, you were a really cute freshman.  Wait, let me look at the other years."

Josh moaned his permission and leaned over to plug the heating pad back in.  He settled down and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Josh, what are you doing?"

"Nothing.  I just plugged in the heating pad."

"OK, so the freshman picture was the cutest.  Senior year's not bad, but I've seen that one before.  The other two, well, we don't have to discuss them." she said with a laugh.

"OK, just wait until you move in with all your old embarrassing photos."

"Josh." she said in a tone that sounded less like a warning than she had hoped.

"Sorry.  OK, next box."

"How about the one marked photos."

"Sure."

Donna opened the box and carefully took out the top few frames.  They were wrapped carefully in tissue.  She just stared at the photos for a few minutes.  She set three up on the windowsill.  A photo of Josh and Joanie, he was about 2, she was about 10; one of Josh on his Bar Mitzvah with who she assumed was his grandfather and one of Josh and his Dad; a larger version of a photo that was in Josh's living room.  She sniffed a bit and wandered into the bathroom for a tissue.

"Donna.  Honey, are you crying?"

"Yes, don't make fun of me."

"I won't.  If I were there I'm sure I would be crying too." he admitted softly.

"Josh we don't have to do this."

"Donna, I'm not exactly doing anything, I'm curled up on the bed in the dark.  So what pictures did you find?"

She described them as well as a few others in the box until Josh stopped her.  She could tell by his tone that in his overtired and wired state he was starting to get a little emotional.

"One more box." he said as he glanced at the clock on the table next to the bed.  It was getting late.

"OK, there's one marked books."

"Books?  I didn't think I had any books left at the house.  Go ahead and open it."

"Oh, Josh." cried Donna as she opened the box and saw the books.  They were books of his childhood, lovingly worn and packed carefully.

"What?"

"Children's books."

"I can't believe Mom saved them.  What's in there?"

"Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.  Where the Wild Things Are, One Morning in Maine, a few more Dr. Seuss books.  I'll put them in the living room with the others."

"The Nancy Drew books were Joanie's.  What else?"

"Davey Crockett, some comic books, Goodnight Moon, some books on the Presidents of the United States. Started early with the politics, huh Josh?"

"Yeah, I suppose." he said with a weary sigh.

"Josh you need to get some sleep."

"I know."

"How about we finish the rest tomorrow?"

"OK.  I miss you.  Call me in the morning.  We have to be up early.  The President wants to go visit some sand dune thing.  I don't know what it is."

"Sleeping Bear Dunes?"

"Something like that." mumbled Josh.

"OK.  I'll talk to you tomorrow.  I love you."

"Love you too." he whispered.

"Josh, hang up the phone." said Donna a little louder, as she could tell the sleeping pill was about to kick in.

"Kay."

Donna waited until she heard him disconnect the phone before she hung up.  A quick glance out the window told her the snow had almost stopped.  She could hear the scrapping of the snowplows on a nearby street as she pulled curtain closed.  With one last glance at the pictures she had unwrapped Donna grabbed a glass of water, Where the Wild Things Are and settled down under the comforter on Josh's bed.

She read the book, remembering how her father used to read her the same story when she was a little girl.  Curling up around Josh's pillow she watched out the window as the snow slowed to a stop.  A sense of calm and belonging that she hadn't felt in a long time came over her.  Ten minutes later she made the decision to move in with Josh.

Despite the pill Josh slept restlessly and was awake by the time Donna called him at a little before 6.  They only talked for a minute until Sam knocked on the door on his way to breakfast.  Josh hung up, finished tying his tie and joined Sam in the hotel restaurant.

The roads were clear and Leo's driver picked up Donna and Margaret up for work.  Donna spent the morning finishing up with Charlie and then set out to conquer the mess that was Josh's office.  She pulled her hair back, took off her blazer and got to work. As she had almost uncovered the top of Josh's desk she realized she hadn't heard from him since that morning.  A new record, she though to herself as she grabbed the pad of Post-It notes and started to label some of the piles on the desk.

She had just finished dusting the photographs on the shelves when the phone rang. 

"Josh Lyman."

"Hi, it's me."

"Hey. You sound a little better.  How were the sand dunes?"

Donna laughed at the way Josh groaned at the mere mention of the Sleeping Bear Dunes.

"Uh, cold, interesting?  Let's just say I know more about them than I ever wanted to know.  We did, however, manage to convince the President not to try and climb them and then roll down like the kids were doing."

"That would have made a great photo-op Josh." teased Donna.

"Yeah, until he hurt himself.  Remember this is the guy who ran Leo's bike into a tree."

"True. So where are you now?"

"On the way to an early dinner.  The President heard about this little cafe in Frankfort so we're headed there.  And then we're heading for the airport.  What are you up to?"

"I'm done with Charlie and now I'm trying to organize this mess you call an office."

"You didn't have to do that.  I was going to get to it."

Donna snorted, loudly.

"OK, so maybe I wasn't." admitted Josh with a yawn.

"You get any sleep last night?"

"A little.  How'd you sleep?"

"Like a log."

"So make any monumental decisions today?"

"Ah, the subtly is back I see." teased Donna.

"Yep"

"And yes, I did come to a monumental decision."

"And..."

"I need a raise."

"Dooo-nnna" whined Josh.

"No whining, Joshua."

"Fine.  Any more decisions?"

Donna took a deep breath.

"Yes."

"Yes you made a decision, or yes, that is your decision?" asked Josh as he took a deep breath and just as he had done hundreds of times as a kid, he crossed his fingers.

"Both." replied Donna with a grin.

"Really?"

"Yeah.  I'll make up the rules and post them on the fridge before you get home." teased Donna.

Josh laughed and then looked up to find Sam and CJ staring at him with questioning looks on their faces. "I love you.  I have to go, I'm getting weird looks from Sam and CJ."

"Love you too. Bye"

Josh had to admit that dinner at the Coho Cafe was nice.  It was a cute little place.  Donna would have like it, he thought to himself.  The owners were very gracious and of course made a big fuss over everyone.

By the time they made it to the plane he was exhausted.  He thought about calling Donna after he settled into his seat but getting up again and walking to the phone was something he just didn't even have the energy to do at the time.  He curled up against the window and a few minutes later he was vaguely aware of CJ covering him up and reaching over to slip off his shoes and loosen his tie.

Margaret and Donna went out to get something to eat after work.  Donna told Margaret about her decision to move in with Josh.  Margaret had teased her that the ring was next. Donna knew that, logically, a ring was the next step.  But she honestly had no idea if that was something that had occurred to Josh.  It was a subject that they had managed to somehow avoid altogether for nearly 6 months.

After she got back to Josh's place she put some of the pictures she had unpacked around the apartment.  She put the one of Josh and his grandfather on his dresser and the one of Josh and Joanie on the shelf in the living room.  The Dr. Seuss books went on the shelf in the living room with the rest of the collection.

Donna was snuggled up on the couch under the quilt Josh's mother had made for him when he was little when he called from the plane. She reached for the remote to mute the Lifetime Movie she had just started watching. 

"Hello" 

"Hi honey.  Look we're stuck on the ground in Pittsburgh.  We had to land cause of the snow.  I don't think we're getting out of here anytime tonight."

"You just going to stay on the plane?"

"Yeah, there's not too many of us here.  There's plenty of room and getting off the plane creates a Secret Service nightmare."

"You'd better get some sleep."

"Donna, it's 9:23."

"I meant in general Josh." 

"Yeah. I'll sleep, later.  What are you doing?"

"Watching TV, some movie."

"You up to opening some more boxes?" asked Josh as he kicked off his sneakers and put his feet up on the seat across from him.  He had already changed out of his suit and tie into a pair of jeans and a Harvard sweatshirt when it was apparent that they weren't going to make it home anytime soon.

"Sure.  Let me switch phones."  

Donna went to the kitchen to grab the portable and hung up the extension in the living room.  She grabbed a bottle of water and headed for the spare bedroom.

"Which box?"

"What's left?"

"Music and miscellaneous."

Josh knew what was in the box marked music and he didn't quite feel up to having Donna open that one yet.

"Miscellaneous."

Donna ran the knife along the line of tape and opened the box carefully.

"So?"

"A green knit blanket, a teddy bear and some baseball hats, so far."

"My grandmother made the blanket when I was born.  My Mom and Dad gave me the bear when I turned 3.  They were a few of the things that survived the fire." he said quietly.

"Josh.."

"I'm fine.  What else?"

"A baseball glove and a couple of balls.  A large envelope.  You want me to open it?"

"Uh, no.  It's letters from my grandparents.  Do me a favor and stick it in the bottom drawer of the nightstand."

"Sure.  There are some other newspaper articles and stuff like that in a folder."

"Just leave them in the box.  Hold on a sec."

Donna heard Josh put his hand over the phone and then heard the muffled voices of both Josh and Sam.

"OK, I'm back.  Sam just wanted to make sure I was ok. Guess I don't look so good at the moment."

"You want me to open the last box?"

"No, I'll do that one myself.  Was there a small blue box in any of the cartons?"

"I didn't see it."

"OK.  I guess I took it out."

"Something important in it?"

"Nah, don't worry about it.  I'll find it." said Josh with a big yawn.

"That's it.  Get some sleep."

"I'm fine, really."

"Josh you're fighting sleep again.  You can't do that.  Listen to what you body's telling you."

"It's telling me I really need to be alone with you." he laughed.

"Well, that's not going to happen.  Take a pill, grab a blanket and get some sleep."

"I will.  I'll call when I know what's going on here. Love you."

"Love you too."

Donna hung up the phone with a sigh and flicked off the light in the room.  As she went to leave she turned around and walked back over to the Miscellaneous box.  She grabbed the teddy bear and took it to bed with her. 

A few hours later Josh was wide awake again.  He was pacing around the plane thinking about the contents of the missing blue box.  Actually it wasn't missing anymore.  He remembered taking it to the bank and putting it in the safety deposit box last winter.  In the box was a pair of his grandfather's cuff links, some old stock certificates and the one thing that had him up and pacing Air Force One in the middle of the night, his grandmother's diamond and ruby engagement ring.  

His mother had given it to him when she moved to Florida.  That seemed a little odd to Josh.  He had no need for an engagement ring at the time.  His mother could have just kept it until the day came when he needed it.   When his mother gave him the box, the morning he left his childhood home for the last time, she also handed him a note from his father.  Josh had been too upset to even look at it and just shoved it in his pocket.  Donna had gone with him to Connecticut to help pack up the house.  She drove back to DC while Josh sat quietly next to her, lost in his thoughts and memories.  They stopped for lunch somewhere on the New Jersey Turnpike.  The rest stop had been crowded and they ate in the car.  When they were done Donna had gone back in to use the restroom. While she was gone Josh had opened the ring box and the note.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Joshua,

If you're reading this, well then, I'm not around to tell you this in person.  So here it goes--

You may not believe this now, but you've found the one who will someday wear this ring.  Trust me, I know.  I'm just sorry I won't be there in person.  But know I will be with you always.

Love,

Dad

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The note was still in the blue box with the ring.  At the time Josh got the note he thought his father must have been a little nuts. His Dad had met Donna once on a campaign stop in Hartford.  The four of them had had lunch, spending all of two hours together.  Donna had only been working for Josh for a few months but even after than short time the connection between Josh and Donna had been enough to get his Dad thinking.  

Two months later, his Dad was gone.

Josh stopped his pacing, went to the galley and made himself a cup of tea.  He went to see if anyone was awake.  Everybody he passed was sound asleep, even Sam.  He drank the tea, watched the snow and eventually drifted off.

The plane took off a little before 5 the next morning.  By 11:00 Josh had been home, showered and was on his way into the West Wing.

Donna was on the phone as he passed by her desk.  He paused to kiss the top of her head and to pick up a stack of phone messages she held out for him.  She finished her phone call, grabbed Josh's schedule and went into his office.  

"Tell me you've at least been home to change." she asked as she handed him the schedule. Given his crooked tie and unruly hair it was a little hard to tell.

"Yes, I went home, took a shower and changed." he answered as he came out from around the desk to give her a proper kiss hello.

"God, I missed you." he whispered as he held her tight.

"I missed you too." replied Donna as she gave him one last squeeze and took a step back to get a good look at him.  "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine.  Just a little tired.  But on the bright side, I'm not whiny anymore." he said with a grin.

"Good, that's a pleasant change.  Here's your schedule.  You need anything else?"

"I don't think so." he said as he glanced at the schedule. 

Donna smiled and left his office, closing the door behind her.  Josh put his feet up on the desk and a stack of files in his lap.  He started to read them but stopped after reading the same paragraph for the third time and still having no idea what it said.  He tossed them aside and turned to face out the window.  As he watched the sun shining off the snow he made a decision.  He turned on the computer and typed an email to his mother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

from:jlyman@whitehouse.gov

to:noahswife@aol.com

subject: Guess what??

Dear Mom,

It's time.

Love,

Joshua

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He hit send and picked up the picture of his father off the desk.  

"It's time." he whispered as he glanced at the schedule on his desk.  He decided to ask Donna to rearrange something.  He was going to walk out and talk to Donna but decided to IM her instead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

jlyman:Doo-nnna

dmoss:I thought you were done whining.

jlyman:I was just kidding.

dmoss:Do you need something.  Cause if you've got some free time I could use a little help out here.

jlyman:Very funny.  I need you to do me a favor.

dmoss:Maybe.

jlyman:Move my 2:00 to sometime around 4.

dmoss:Sure, why?

jlyman:I have to go somewhere.

dmoss:Where?

jlyman:Out

dmoss:OK, I can see I'm not going to get an answer.  Hold on a second.  Let me make a call.

jlyman:Fine. I'll just ramble while you make a call.

dmoss:Whatever.

jlyman:The pictures you put out look nice.  Thanks for opening the boxes.  Notice you slept with the teddy bear.  The music box is stuff of Joanie's.  I'm not ready to open it yet.

jlyman:Hey, how about bringing in a cup of coffee when you get off the phone.

jlyman:I can see you making faces at me from here.

jlyman:You don't look very professional when you stick your tongue out at me.

dmoss:Meeting's changed to 4.  I am not bringing you coffee.  It's pretty obvious you had enough already today.

jlyman:Four cups, I think, might have been more.

dmoss:Great.  I don't suppose you ate anything.

jlyman:Nope.

dmoss:Get back to work. I'll bring you something to eat. But no coffee.

jlyman:Pl-eeee-ase????

dmoss:Enough with the whining.  

jlyman:OK.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few minutes after 2 Josh walked to Donna's desk with a determined grin on his face.

"I'll be back in a while."

"Where are you going?"

"The bank."

"The bank?  Can't you just go to the ATM?"

"Nope"

"OK, whatever." muttered Donna, her attention already back on the spreadsheet that was currently covering a good portion of her desk.

"I'll see you in a little while my dear Donnatella." proclaimed Josh as he leaned over to give her a big kiss before practically skipping through the bullpen.  Donna just stared at him, trying to decide if he was just overtired, over-caffeinated or just plain insane.  She was leaning heavily towards insanity.  

THE END

**Sequel:** "Replacing the Memories"

  



End file.
